


Curbing Attitudes

by thegreatgayjatsby



Series: To Settle His Savage Side [3]
Category: 18th Century CE RPF, Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: Before Simcoe gets captured, F/M, Fluff, Introspection, Pining, Set within the first several episodes, Simcoe acts a gentleman and Anna is surprised, brief mention of sexual content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-19
Updated: 2016-11-19
Packaged: 2018-08-31 22:13:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8595844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegreatgayjatsby/pseuds/thegreatgayjatsby
Summary: Simcoe walks Anna home, as promised, and she turns the situation over in her mind, only to discover that perhaps Simcoe isn't as bad as she first presumed.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not fond of this installation. It's serving as a filler chapter, just for Anna to more come to terms with her attraction to the good Capn.

If Simcoe was nothing else, he was a man of his word. Like clockwork, the Captain reappeared in the Strong Tavern, lingering in the entranceway until Anna acknowledged him. She looked up from her work in washing down the tables.

“Thank you for coming, Captain.” Anna cast a tired, but genuine smile at the imposing British officer, and was pleased to see he returned it.

“Of course, Ms. Strong.” He sounded as weary as she felt.

He took a step further into the tavern, pushing an errant chair into place as he went. Something in the back of Anna’s mind warned her to watch him. She focused her attention on Simcoe for a moment, gauging his actions, but only found pleasant surprise as he circled the room, pushing all the chairs into their proper places.

“How was your day, Captain?” Anna asked, dipping the cleaning rag into her bowl of water and scrubbing out a particularly sticky spot on a table.

“Well enough. Productive. We’ve been reinforcing the garrison.” He pushed in the final chair and began to hover, as he was wont to do.

Anna almost wished she were brave enough to hand him a rag and have him finish the tables himself. She knew he desired to please her, but wasn’t certain as to how far her influence reached over him.

His fingers drummed a little against the back of his other wrist, and she spoke up again, easing the tension she sensed in him. With all the time she spent around men, she had become adept at sensing their anxiety.

“After you…intervened, today, no one spoke an inappropriate word to me, let alone touched me.” She spoke truly, and it was something she had been immensely grateful for. It made her work easier and her day shorter.

Simcoe positively glowed at the praise, and he straightened up a little. “I’m pleased that my actions proved themselves beneficial.”

“They did, muchly.” Anna responded, wiping down the last table quickly and ringing the rag out in the bowl. She inclined her head towards it, deciding to take a little risk. “Would you mind terribly pouring this water outside?”

The Captain rushed to do so, collecting up the bowl and promptly going outside to dump it. Anna covered her mouth to hide a smile as she went into the kitchen to ensure the back door was locked for the evening. It would appear that Simcoe was more willing to do as Anna said than she had previously thought. She wondered if Selah had been the same way, would their marriage have been less turbulent?

Simcoe set the bowl on a counter in the kitchen, then smoothed down the front of his jacket. “Shall we?”

Such words were usually accompanied by a man offering his arm, but Simcoe refrained. Anna found herself feeling a little disappointed. Her decision to take another risk was made quickly, and she didn’t give herself time to think it over, instead simply acting.

Anna gently gripped Simcoe’s arm, looking up at him through her eyelashes expectantly. He adjusted his arm so she could hold it better, his Adams’ apple bobbing prominently. His eyes were wide, high cheeks slightly colored, and she turned her gaze aside to smile at her shoes. Another point for Ms. Strong.

Her mind briefly worked over the fact that she had picked up Simcoe’s habit of entitling her ‘Ms.’ Instead of ‘Mrs.’. The Captain led her out of the tavern, pausing to permit her ample time to lock the door and collect up the lantern waiting on the porch, already having been lit. As they walked, Simcoe took the lantern, and Anna found herself at ease. She didn’t have to worry about being approached at this time of night with Simcoe by her side. His presence and with it, his protection, made the walk home a lot more pleasant.

Anna admired the stars, and the quiet atmosphere. Without a doubt, Simcoe made her feel safe. Selah never had. Instead, he had gone off to join the Patriots and cause trouble. He’d struggled to keep the tavern afloat. He’d struggled to protect her from the tavern’s patrons. Captain Simcoe had proved himself more than capable of being a beneficial influence in her life.

The Captain seemed content to remain quiet for the duration of their walk, leaving Anna’s mind free to wander. She found herself remembering their kiss from the other night. Although Simcoe had been drunk, and she was still uncertain if he remembered that transgression, she had enjoyed it. He had been chaste enough drunk to make Anna consider how respectful he would be while sober.

The thought that Anna wanted to kiss him again hit her like a physical blow. She winced a little and was thankful to see the lights of the Strong residence glowing down the drive. Would she use Simcoe for protection in Selah’s absence? Absolutely. But could she stomach betraying her husband?

Anna was guilty to find she didn’t know the answer to that question.

Simcoe led her up the steps to the front door and, when she released her grip on his arm, opened it for her. He snuffed out the lantern’s wick and hung it upon the hook meant for just that purpose, than stepped inside the house and closed the door. Anna noticed that he locked it.

He stood there for a moment, hands folded behind his back, and Anna surveyed him. “Thank you.” She said gently when he met her gaze.

A little smile bloomed across his lips. “The pleasure was all mine, I assure you, Ms. Strong. Don’t hesitate to ask, if you have need for any services I might provide.”

The way he said services made Anna’s spine tingle. It was time to retire for the night, she decided, upon identifying her reaction to his voice as arousal. Perhaps she was in too deep. She bid the Captain a good night, which he returned, and only let herself relax when she was locked away in her room.

Anna took a deep breath to steady herself and performed her nightly ablutions at record pace. Once she’d hung her gown, washed her face, and slipped into her nightclothes, she got into bed and lay back, allowing herself to indulge in the tension seeping from her muscles. The simmer of heat remained between her thighs, however, and she gnawed at her lower lip, making a valiant attempt to ignore it. She didn’t want to face the implications that if Simcoe’s voice could do this to her, his hands would be able to do much more.

Anna wondered if he had a woman in England. She would have been lucky. If Anna wasn’t already married, and circumstances were different, she’d have wished for Simcoe to court her. Her body, more than apparently, agreed. And perhaps, as time wore on, he would. Thus far, he had seemed entirely respectful her and her wishes.

Certainly he had a violent temper and sour disposition regarding the other citizens of Setauket, and his commanding officer, and the regulars beneath him, and _everyone_ but Anna. She supposed she could use that to her advantage.

Her eyes were beginning to fall shut, he mind drifting towards the sweet reprieve of slumber, when the lose floorboard just outside her door creaked. Anna jolted a little, awakening fully. Her humor dampened slightly. No matter her justifications of him, Simcoe was an odd man.

To her surprise, the board creaked again almost immediately afterwards. Weight was taken off it. Simcoe had come upstairs, paused, and moved along. Distantly, she heard his door open and close down the hall. A sense of accomplishment washed over her. It seemed she was curbing his attitudes already.

Anna went to sleep with that thought cherished in her mind.


End file.
